UT Set To Continue Quest For Sixth National Championship

CARY, N.C. - The University of Tampa is among the eight teams that will vie for a national championship as the 2010 NCAA Division II Baseball National Finals gets underway Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The Spartans will meet the University of Central Missouri in game one at 1 p.m.

The double-elimination tournament runs through Saturday, May 29, as the championship game will be nationally televised live on CBS College Sports. Mount Olive College will partner with the Town of Cary as hosts for this year's national finals. Mount Olive College and Town of Cary co-hosted the 2009 national finals and will also host the 2011 event.

Tickets are $7 per session for adults and $5 per session for children 12 and under and seniors 55 and over. All-session tickets are available for $25. Tickets and championship information are available by going to www.moc.edu/athletics or www.ncaa.com.

Live video webcasts of all games available on www.ncaa.com. UT will also offer live stats for all Spartan games, which are available through www.tampaspartans.com.

The field for the national finals will be comprised of the champions of the eight regionals, which took place over the weekend.

Two first-round games will be played Saturday, followed by two more first-round games Sunday. Game times both days are 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturday's play begins with Tampa (South Regional champion) taking on Central Missouri (South Central), then concludes with Georgia College & State (Southeast) going up against UC San Diego (West). Sunday, Franklin Pierce (East) faces Kutztown (Atlantic) in the opener, followed by Southern Indiana (Midwest) vs. Minnesota State (Central).

Game times Monday through Thursday are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. as the tournament field narrows. Games would be played Friday only if more than two teams remain in the tournament. The winner-takes-all national championship game begins at noon on May 29.

The Spartans enter the championships with a 46-9 overall record and are coming off a NCAA South Regional title that featured 71 runs in five games. UT twice registered 20 runs on No. 1 seed Southern Arkansas, including a 20-3 win in the crowning game.

Cary is the sixth city to host the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship, dating back to 1968. Springfield, Mo., hosted the first four national championships, followed by an eight-year run in Springfield, Ill, and five years in Riverside, Calif. The national championship moved to Montgomery, Ala., in 1985 and stayed there through 2007. The 2008 national title took place in Sauget, Ill., just east of St. Louis, Mo.

Tampa has won five national championships, while Central Missouri has claimed two national titles. Tampa is the last team to capture back-to-back national championships, winning in 2006 and 2007. Current head coach Joe Urso, who guided the Spartans to their last two titles, was named Most Valuable Player when Tampa won the 1992 national championship. Central Missouri is making its 17th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the longest active streak of any school.

UC San Diego, which tied for third at the 2009 national finals, is the only team from last year's championship to return to Cary this year. Georgia College & State, the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Regional, is the only national finalist that was not a No. 1 or 2 seed. At last year's National Finals in Cary, four of the eight regional champions were No. 4 seeds or lower.

Franklin Pierce has reached the National Finals five times in its seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Kutztown made its first-ever NCAA II Baseball Tournament appearance in 1999 and after missing out in 2000, has advanced to the tournament in each of the last 10 years.

Southern Indiana is making its second appearance in the National Finals in the last four years. The Screaming Eagles reached the semifinals in 2007. Minnesota State is making its 29th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any of this year's teams in the National Finals and second most overall.

At more than 130,000 people, Cary is a thriving community in the heart of central North Carolina and has been praised for its high quality of life by MONEY Magazine, Forbes and Frommer's. Often referred to as North Carolina's Technology Town, Cary is served by an award-winning Town government of 1,100 professionals who focus every day on enriching the lives of their citizens by creating an exceptional environment and providing exemplary services that enable their community to thrive and prosper. The Town of Cary website is located at www.townofcary.org.

Selected by the NCAA as an "NCAA Championship City", the Town of Cary is designated as one of six premier collegiate athletics host communities. Cary joins Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; St. Louis, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, Calif., as cities with this designation. Cary has hosted numerous NCAA national championships, including Division I Men's and Women's Soccer Championships and the 2009 Division II Baseball National Finals. Lynn defeated Emporia State 2-1 in last year's national championship game.

In addition to the games at the national finals, there will be a different promotion each day, including a youth clinic Saturday morning. The clinic will be conducted by the Mount Olive College baseball coaching staff and will include players and coaches from one of the participating teams.

Also, as part of the NCAA Division II Community Engagement, three teams not playing Saturday will serve as "buddies" for the Miracle League of the Triangle Home Run Derby. The event takes place at Andy's Foundation Field at Adams Elementary School in Cary and gets underway at 10 a.m.

Below is the complete schedule for the national finals, including each day's promotion.

SCHEDULE (All Times Eastern); team's region in parentheses

Saturday, May 22 (Youth Clinic 10 a.m.-Noon Ages 8-14)
Game 1: Tampa (South) vs. Central Missouri (South Central) - 1 p.m.
Game 2: Georgia College and State (Southeast) vs. UC San Diego (West) - 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 23 (Kids run the bases after second game)
Game 3: Franklin Pierce (East) vs. Kutztown (Atlantic) - 1 p.m.
Game 4: Southern Indiana (Midwest) vs. Minnesota State (Central) - 5 p.m.

Monday, May 24 (Free Rawlings keychains for first 500 fans)
Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 6: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 25 (Free mini-bats for first 250 fans)
Game 7: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 26 (Dollar Hot Dog Day)
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser - 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 27 (Free USA Baseball caps for first 250 fans)
Game 11: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - 3 p.m.
Game 12: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 7 p.m.

Friday, May 28 ("What If" Day: Tickets $4 - Available only at gate day of game)
Game 13: Game 11 Rematch (If necessary)
Game 14: Game 12 Rematch (if necessary)
Game times 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. if both games are played
Game time 6 p.m. if one game is played

Saturday, May 29 (Family Fun Day)
Championship Game - Noon (Live coverage on CBS College Sports)